No to U.S. bombing of Syria!

The Freedom Socialist Party forcefully condemns the latest U.S. attack in the Middle East – the cruise missile strikes against Syrian airfields on April 6.

Two days earlier, the Bashar al-Assad regime had launched a vicious, abhorrent attack on civilians in the town of Khan Sheikhoun, apparently using chemical weapons. This assault drew the wrath of new U.S. Commander-in-Chief Donald Trump, who hypocritically mourned for the dozens of Syrian men, women, and “beautiful babies” who were killed. But Trump would deny these same Syrians entry into the U.S. as refugees with his multi-country, anti-Muslim travel ban.

Trump, perhaps, only remembers what he sees on Fox News for a week or so at a time. But many of us remember the more than 500,000 beautiful Iraqi children killed after the first Gulf War, during Bill Clinton’s White House tenure, by sanctions and “collateral effects” of the war. There is no question about the suffering in Syria, or Assad’s culpability. But the claim that U.S. military intervention can improve the situation is denied by history. In fact, U.S. wars and occupations — driven by its economic and geopolitical ambitions — are directly responsible for the chaos, misery, and death that people in the Middle East are experiencing.

How can this possibly be resolved? Only through the actions of the Syrian people themselves, in concert with other workers and revolutionaries in the Middle East. Our job in the U.S. is to give them political support and raise hell with our own government.

Hillary Clinton had called for bombing Syria before the strikes were made. Immediately afterward a bipartisan, multi-media chorus of approval kicked in to support Trump’s perilous warmongering, which threatens wider conflict in the Middle East and a U.S.-Russia showdown. Working and oppressed people can place no faith in Democratic and Republican politicians to halt the bombs. The need is for a revitalized domestic and international anti-war movement to raise and fight for demands including:

The U.S. military must stand down; all U.S. troops and military contractors and advisers out of the Middle East.

by Kristina Lee

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